Projecting device.



W. WEBBER.

PROJEGTING nEvIcE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 21, 1911. LQ@ 199920 Patented Mar. 31, 1914,

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ATTORNEYS W. WEBBER.

PROJECTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 21, 1911.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914 LQLQQQ.,

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jected -ball may i miran sTATEs PATENT ormoni.

WESLEY WEBBER, OF KEARNEY, NEW JERSEY.

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To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, WESLEY WEBnER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Kearney, HarrisonP. O., in the county 'of Hudson and State of New Jersey, havek volves an improved mechanical ball throwing machine adapted for use in playing baseball.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a new and improved machine of the class described constructed and arranged whereby the direction and curve of a probe varied'.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction having coperating parts thereon whereby a baseball may be thrown in a given direction and with a given curve, the speed at which the ball is thrown being variable.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved machine of the class described having means for removably holding a ball in position with a moving arm carrying the ball and the said means, the moving arm when brought to rest projecting the ball forwardly.

A urther object of the invention is to provide a new and improved construction of the class described which will consist of a few parts, tligreby enabling it to be produced at a low cost and which will beextremely eii'icient in operati-on.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as the description there- Aof proceeds, all of which are particularly pointed out and included in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thijs specication in which similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the by means of a set screw. 25;

views, and in which- Figure 1 is a rear view of the device in inoperative thereof; ig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4.-4 of Fig, 6; Fi 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1; ig. 6 is a section on the line 6--6 of Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7 -7 of Fig. 2 ;A Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the baseball with specification bf Letters Patent.

osition; Fig. 2 is a side viewy the strap. wound thereon; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the strap.

The apparatus is designed to be sup orted on any suitable stand or support 1 a apted to rest on the ground and be held in position by means of pegs or stakes 2 driven therein .and engaging the corners of the support.

The projecting device as a whole is mounted on a platform 3 which rests on top of the support 1 being pivotally supported thereto at 4 and being movable witlrespect to the support vthrough the medium of a toothed segment 5 havlng a handle 6 thereon mount- Patented Mar. 31, 1914. Application led November 21, 1911. Serial No. 661,595.

ed in a suitable bearing 7 at the end of the support 1, the end of the platform 3 being provided with a series of notches or serrations 8 with which the teeth on the segment 5 are. adapted to engage.

Mounted on the platform 3 are the uprights 9, spaced being held in position o-n the platform by means of suitable brackets 10. Extending led in suitable bearings 16 carried by the upright. Secured to the outer end of the shaft 11 is an arm 17 having means at its upper end for removably lholding a baseball in position; alsojs'ecured to the shaft 11 and preferably between the luprights 9 is a wheel 18 having notches 19 on its periphery, there being a pin .20 extending transverselyv of the wheel and secured to one end of a spiral spring 21 the other end of this spiralspring being secured tothe beforementioned sleeve 11.

Pivotally supported extending between the upri hts'9 is a handle 23. Secured to an interme iate point of the shaft is a dog 24adj ustably held in position pivotally mountextends transed on a stub axley 26 whic versel'y of one of the upritgh'ts 9 is a bell crank lever 27, one end28 o which is adapted to be engaged by the dog 24, the other end 29 being normally held inl eng-agement with one of the notches or teeth 19 on the wheel 18 by means of a leaf spring 30 held in position on a suitable pin 31 carried by the upa suitable distance apart, I

on a suitable shaft 22 a suitable opening through which the rod 32 extends, one end of which is threaded as at 33, this same end being provided with a slot 34, the forward end of the rod carrying a device which I term a cup 35 for holding a baseball 36. The cup and rod are adj ustably and resiliently held in position on the arm through the medium of a leaf spring 36 bearing against the rear end thereof and surrounding the rod, there being a handle 37 on the rodhaving a in 38 extending therethrough and into t e slot 34, the inner end vof the handle bearing against thel spring 36, the handle itself being held in position through the medium of a nut 39.

The cup or ball holder 35'has a central cavity 40 into which the ball is adapted to I'it, there being a plurality of spring fingers 41 secured to the cup and adapted to engage the outside of the ball when it is positioned as shown in Fig. 5. Referring particularly l f to Figs. 8 and 9 it will be noted that the ball 36 before being positioned in the cup has a strap wound thereon, this strap being concavo-convex in cross section whereby it may closely engage the .outer surface of the ball, one end of the strap'when the ball is positioned in the cup extending through a suitable opening 42 therein and passing beneath a fastening device which embodies a cam 43 mounted on a shaft 44 having a handle 45 at one end thereof. Mounted in suitable bearings 46 on the outside of the upright 9 is a bar 47 having a helical spring 48 wrapped thereon, one end of the spring being in engagement with one of the bearings while the other end engages a lug 49 carried by the bar. This bar is positioned in the same vertical plane as thek arm 17 and is adapted'to engage therewith when the arm 1s thrown to discharge the ball and, to this end, the bar is provided with a resilient head 51, together withl a number ofA U-shaped leather washers 52 whereby the distance which the lbar moves when the arm is thrown may be varied, thereby determining the trajectoryy of the ball when it leaves the cup.

v The operation and use of the machine is as follows. The stand or support is positioned as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and the g `platform 3 which carries the projecting device proper is rotated about the pivot 4 until 55 theproper direction in which t e ball is to be projected is obtained. The speed at which the ball is to be projected is determined by the tension ofthe spring 21 carried onA the sleeve 11, the tension 'bein increased b operating the hand whee 15 whereby t e worm 13 turns the worm wheel 12, thereby varying the tension of this 'springg with a greater tension the projecting device proper is brought from the dotted line position'of Fig. 2 to the full line position with eater velocity thereby projecting the bar with greater velocity than when this spring is under --a lesser tension.

The strap 50 is wrapped around the ball 36 in the manner shown in F 8, the ball being then placed in the pocket or cup 35 with the end of the strap extending through the opening 42 and being secured 1n position by turning the cam l43 through the medium of the handle 45 secured thereto. The spring lingers 41 hold the ball with the strap thereon in position as shown in Fig. 5 and the cu is resiliently held in position on the arm l through the medium of the leaf spring 36, the rod 32 which carries the cup being adjustable by turning the hand wheel' 37 whereby the relation between the direction in whlch the end of the strap 50 extends to the trajectory of the ball may be determined, thereby enabling the ball to be projected with different spinning motions whereby the curve which the ball defines 1n its passage throughthe air is obtained. Thev Adetermining the heiht which the ball will reach inits flight. fter these adjustments have been made the arm with the ball positioned thereon is brought to the dotted line position in Fig. 2, movement ofthe arm turning the shaft 1l and with it the serrated wheel 18 and also tightening the spring 21, the 4arm being held in dotted line position by reason of the enga ement of the lower end of the bell crank ever 27 with one of the notches or serrations 19 in the wheel 18; this engagement is maintained by the leaf sprino' 30 which bears against the lower end of th1s bell crank lever. The arm is brought from dotted line to full line position by pulling downwardly on the' handle 23 whereby the dog 24 which is also secured to the shaft 22v moves the bell crank lever..

27 out of engagement with the notched pc-v riphery of the wheel 18 and permits. the arm to come into full line position. with .varying velocity, the reaction of the arm striking the resi-lient head 51, projecting the-bau from The construction of a machine such 'as I4 have outlined rovides an'effectlve mecham-,

cal baseball pltcher and one under the con# trol of the operator smce the curvature and m ho f the trajectory ofthe projected ball are under his control, the number of parts and the cooperation thereof being reduced to a minimum whereby as simple and effective a device is produced as is necessary to 'throw a baseball with the certainty desired. The size of the various parts will be sufficient to bear the necessary shocks and strains due to the operation thereof, the material of which the parts are made and the design of the different parts being largely matters which may be left to the skill of the maker in producing a machine which is pleasing and attractive in its appearance.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a mechanical baseball pitcher, a support, a swinging arm, means for swinging said arm from one position to Athe other, quickly, a stop for arresting the movement of said arm, a cup for recelving a ball arranged on said arm, means for Yloosely holdg said ball in said cup, means for rotatably ding said cup on said arm, a strap adapted to be wound around said ball when the same is arranged in said cup, one end of said strap extending beyond said cup, and means for clamping said strap to sald arm at any point along the strap, whereby the, strap may be wound to any desired extent around said ball.

2. In a mechanical baseball pitcher, a base, a swinging arm arranged in said base, means for swinging said arm quickly from one positionto the other, a` stop for suddenly arresting the movement of saidl arm, a cup for receiving a ball, means for connecting said cup with said arm, a strap adapted to be wrapped around said ball when the same is in said cup, and to extend from said cup, and a pivotally mounted cam -for inching said strap against said arm, sai cam pinchingsaid stra at a point intermediate the ends thereof, w ereby any desired length 45 of strap may be wrapped around said ball. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WESLEY wEBBER.

Witnesses:

BISHOP W. MAINS, JOSEPH J. CAREY. 

